May 31: Let’s elevate this economy!

The 6th Annual Elevate Arts Festival in downtown Courtenay is the BEST time to visit the Comox Valley.

That’s it. Be here. May 31-June 3. Downtown Courtenay. Where you’ll find more fun and entertainment on the street than you can imagine.

It’s about talent

At LIFT Comox Valley we’re thrilled to be helping kick off this celebration of local talent. We’ve programmed a hat trick of events on the evening of May 31. These include a pop-up trade show, a different kind of talent show, and an after party for creatives, entrepreneurs, and fellow-travellers.
The evening, organised by LIFT Comox Valley, is focused on talent. “I believe that when we grow our local talent, we grow our local economy,” says LIFT VIP and special event sponsor Monica J Parkin, of Invis Mortgages.

The evening

Things start happening at 5pm at the Courtenay Legion with first ever LIFT Trade Show. This pop-up reveals what a number of LIFT VIP businesses are doing. Among them:
  • Bluebird Pads,
  • Re Bastien Portrait Photography,
  • Jace Pierson – Sun Life Financial advisor,
  • Wags Doggy Bags,
  • Heart Drum Beat – Brain & Body Training Systems,
  • Panther Workwear,
  • The Old House Hotel & Spa, and
  • Speedibin composter.
  • Futurpreneur Canada (Vancouver, British Columbia) will also be on hand, looking forward to meeting young entrepreneurial talent.
At 6:30pm Community Voices II challenges seven creative entrepreneurs to tell their story of “living local, thinking BIGger” with only seven minutes and seven slides. This is the second time LIFT is collaborating with The CV Collective and builds on CVC member Ian Adams‘ previous series’ of evenings featuring local talent.
The final event, the 8th #WeAreYQQ Party, takes place at Gladstone Brewing at 8pm. Music by DJ Adil, fun and games by “#WeAreYQQPartyCrew Boss” Leanne Zdebiak-Eni.
The presenters at Community Voices II represent a wide range of talents or examples of the Comox Valley’s “knowledge economy.” They include:
  • Wendy Nixon Stothert of Choral Valley,
  • Tom Keenoy of Kitestrings/ Medium Rare Interactive,
  • community animateur Meaghan Cursons,
  • craftsman Cyrill Werlen of Cascadian Wood Tech,
  • Step Carruthers of, among other things, Phat Tank and Lucky Village Enterprises ,
  • Alex Bowman & Kate Waddel of Byte Me Robotics,
  • and recent Dragons’ Den pitcher, James Flawith of Lil Worker Safety Gear .

The lineup is guaranteed to elevate your understanding of the creatives growing a grassroots “talent economy” in the Comox Valley.

For example, Tom Keenoy, a transplant to the Comox Valley by way of Brooklyn, New York, runs Medium Rare Interactive in Courtenay. He’s also currently building Kitestrings, a solution to internet security that could put our local tech scene on the global map. You can follow Kitestrings on Twitter @kitestringsapp.

Tickets

Tickets are by “suggested donation” online and at the door. Net proceeds from the event support the volunteer community economic development organisation that annually creates the Elevate Arts celebration of local talent.

Buy Now
For more information about May 31st events see WeAreYQQParty.ca, or contact me:
Hans Peter Meyer
Founder, LIFT Comox Valley
250-792-1408 
@hanspetermeyer on Twitter and Instagram